Hello all,
Long time no write, and so there is so much that I need to cover.
School has begun and already feels like a routine. But unlike school back in the US, the school day doesn't always begin or finish at the same time. Like on Wednesdays, I have the first two hours free, but I have class until the eighth hour, which ends at 4. School on the first day was really intimidating at first, but friends were quickly made and they made me feel like I was just another of their friends. Well kind of... many people have many questions that I'm happy to answer. The teachers are all helpful but really want my Dutch to improve enough for me to be able to understand without all of the explanations.
Pierre and I in Eindhoven... KFC!
I got lucky with making friends because I was invited to a party on the first friday night, by a friend who thought I might want to meet more people better than in school. Speaking of friends, that same weekend, the five exchange students from YFU that live in my area decided to take a day trip to Eindhoven which is no more than a half an hour train ride from any of our houses. We thought there would be plenty to do because its a big city and usually shops are open in big cities, but sadly we were mistaken and so our sunday consisted of walking, KFC and McDonalds. It was great to see the four of them, its so crazy that we live so close but are from countries so far from each other. Just around Eindhoven, we have two Belgians, a German, an Uruguayan and just your average American.
All the other exchange students
Since the last blog post, I have joined an Athletics club, which keeps me busy on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and leaves me tired and ready to sleep each night. It's not quite as intense as cross country back home, but it keeps me busy and in shape. When I get back into shape, I think I'll begin running everyday again, but right now, I don't have the fitness to do it. As for other sports, I'll have to decide later whether I have the time and the energy for them, for now, I focus on Nederlands.
My family here has an apartment in a seaside city called Oostende in Belgium. We spent a wonderful two days there, and happened to see the World Championships of Roller Speed Skating. Besides watching Roller Speed Skating, we went to the beach and got beaten by the wind, we went shopping at European stores, and we played Midget Golf. The thing about stores here in Europe is that all of the stores have clothes that fit me. That never happens in the US! Oh and if you were wondering about midget gold, well I am too, apparently that's what people here call mini-golf. But again, I ate food that is really bad in the US, Pizza Hut! Except it wasn't bad and wasn't even that unhealthy.
Sadly this week we will have to say goodbye to my host sister, Yvette. She will also be having an internship in Scotland and will learn to enjoy the rain even more than she does here in the Netherlands. Good luck!
My school has a week during the 4th grade called 'werkweek' where you get to travel to a different country with your class. The options I could have chosen were city trips to London or Berlin, an outdoor adventure in België or you could participate in an exchange with Italië or Spanje. I chose to exchange and go to Italië in the spring, and in october, they will come to Deurne and one will stay with my family.
A Picture from Facebook worth sharing
More information will come about all my adventures which will include an exchange student meeting in Eindhoven, school in a strange language and maybe even a picture of our dog Cisco biting my face last weekend. Feel free to leave questions or witty comments.
Tot ziens,
August
